Journal Entry ~ 04/28/18

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. - 1 John 4:8-9

There is a reason we find these exhortations about love all over scripture - this is something we need to get right, yet a place where we so often fail. If we get this one thing right, if we learn how to truly love God and one another, then nothing else really matters. This is the big revelation from Scripture, this is the big take away God wants you to have. Everything else He says in scripture stem from this one thing. If we are loving God and loving others above ourselves, we’ve got it right. But if we are not, we are standing in the way of He blessings God wants to pour into our lives. 

Biblical love is a self-sacrificing, caring commitment that shows itself in seeking the best for another person.  It delights in seeking the best for another. This is easy when we are making the choices or when it agrees with our priorities or our good. We can even give up a little bit of time to do something for someone else when there is no apparent benefit for us.  Of course, it makes us feel like a better person - that’s definitely a benefit that honors ourselves, and far too often motivates that sacrificial love. But I would argue, this is only surface-level sacrificial love. It goes much deeper than just giving up a small amount of time or comfort. 

True sacrificial love means we lay down what is important to us in favor of what is important to others. We give up our point of view, our beliefs, our comforts, and we pick up another’s as valuable. This is so hard for us. We hold so fast to things that are important to us that we have a difficult time truly seeing things from another’s perspective. We stand so self righteous in our own minds on certain issues that we cannot let them go when a situation calls us to lay down our rights for another’s. 

At its heart, biblical love is a commitment to putting others needs first, regardless of our own beliefs or comforts or expectations. It’s not just an attitude, but an action: it shows itself in deeds. Those deeds often require self-sacrifice, laying down what is most important to us. His kind of sacrificial love cannot be done in our own power, but only by allowing His Spirit to move the mountains in our heart. Seek Him and He will reveal to your where you have failed to be sacrificial in your love, and allow His Spirit to make a change in your to allow His love to pour through you to the others in your life that He calls you to love. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Medical Update ~ 09/27/17

Image
Today was a challenging day.  I met with the oncologist to discuss chemo as part of my treatment plan.  The oncologist explained there were 3 additional invasions discovered during surgery, so there were actually 4 isolated invasions in the breast tissue.  To review - my diagnosis is Ductal Carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  All 4 of the invasions are HER2+ (aggressive) and hormone negative (recurrent).  My oncologist walked us through the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCM) guidelines for treatment of this type of aggressive, recurrent cancer - chemo and radiation. The good news is God had already moved the mountain in my heart opposing chemo, and rested me in a place of acceptance.  While my initial prayers focused on not having to have chemo as part of my treatment, after hearing I had multiple invasions, He moved me to a place of understanding that chemo is a necessary part of my treatment.  If there were 4 invasions in the sample they took, there co
Read more

My Journey Begins...

I am a believer in Christ, and I have breast cancer.     On August 17, 2017, I was diagnosed with an aggressive (HER2+), recurrent (hormone negative) type of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  At this point, they have not yet staged my cancer because they are waiting for the biopsy results from a suspicious spot in the second breast. The biopsy is scheduled for September 5th, with a lumpectomy to follow on September 7th.  They will formally stage my cancer after they biopsy my lymph nodes, which will be taken during the surgery.  It doesn't make any sense to me that I have a cancer diagnosis - I am a fairly healthy woman who runs 2 miles almost every day and eats a gluten-free, primarily paleo diet, with no family history at all.  But it makes sense to God, and so here I am. Update ~ They found 4 isolated invasions during the lumpectomy.  Due to the nature of my cancer (HER2+ and ER-), the recommended protocol is chemotherapy and radiation.  Beginning in October, my chemotherapy regime
Read more

Grace in Marriage

When we launched our new blog we had no idea if anyone would see it or be helped by it, but we knew that the LORD was prompting us to step out in faith and just do it. The response has been amazing and we are looking forward to how God will use this space for His glory. We have learned over many years of service in a variety of ministries, that God does not require human assistance to realize His plans for individuals, churches, nations, or the human race. But the story of the bible is the story of God’s will playing out through the words and actions of the His children. So…we pray, meditate on his Word, and write from the heart about the truths that mold our faith, guide our actions, and inspire our hearts and minds. Please visit the site and subscribe to continue receiving posts.  https://graceinmarriage.com/ It is our sincere hope that you are blessed by our work here and welcome your input on how we can make Grace in Marriage even better. Thank you for your support.
Read more